Handyman Question....

My AC went out last evening (fortunately, the house fans were cool enough to sleep) and I resetted all the circuit breakers.....still nothing. Being hurricane season, there's a lot of lighening/thunder storms on a daily basis and last evening we had a minor one.
Although the AC unit and thermostat seem to be working fine, the fan outside wasn't turning. So, this AM I turned the fan outside with a stick and it started.....YAY!! (but, I'm thinking the capacitors are dead and need replacing). 
 
How difficult is it (for a non-handyman as myself) to replace the capacitor on my Trane HVAC? (too dangerous???.....lol I don't want to get zapped, but don't mind learning how to do it). Of note, I'm also going to call a licensed AC guy to do some maintennance before summer arrives (should I have him replace the capacitor?). Sorry, I'm a complete noob in this....
 

Brando
Hey Mesh - Isn't it more likely it was just a twig or whatever causing the trip that you cleared out of the fan by rotating it? If it is indeed the capacitors, they need to be properly discharged before replacing them, which could pose quite a hazard if you are unfamiliar with how to do this.
On edit - someone with a lot more skill than me might be able to fill in the holes.

The twig/leaves are a very likely possibility Brando (unrelated to the fan, there was a dead squirrel that was stuck on top of the grill just hanging, but not touching the fan blades)......I'll see if the fan wil restart once the desired temp. is reached. The whole unit is only 5 years old (I bought the house less than a year ago, but never had the AC serviced).
From the little I've read, it seems that capacitors are universal parts and the main number to exactly match is the micro-farad......(even if I don't replace it myself, I thought it might be good to have an extra one for the future.....then it's only the labor that I have to pay). 
I'm more inclined to have someone who knows what they're doing than take a stab at it, but just wanted to see how complicated the process might be.........not at the cost of getting electricuted though.
 
 

Thanks Mettelus and Brando!!!! I'm glad I asked before doing something......bad.
 
I'm with Dirty Harry on this.......man must know his limitations.  
 

Mesh
UPDATE: Although the fan is working, my wife just informed me that it's still 83 in the house.
 
Calling the AC guy to come over..........gonna step on the GAS to get home......  

best of luck Mesh - hopefully something non-major.

bapu
Hey guys, did Mesh leave any becan in his cubicle?
 
If so, I place dibs on it.

Pfffft....as if I'm gonna leave any BECAN lying around........(that's just drug induced thinking).......what you smell there my friend is.............. simply GAS........(becan GAS at that).
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
My cubicle is clean.
 
 

I'm a HandyJuan myownsef.

There are several things that could be the problem.  The motor not starting could be any one of several things....  bad capacitor, shorted or burned out coil, burned up relay, burned wire connection.  
 
I have replaced a few motors and caps in my time but have also run into compressors with bad bearings that seized up when I put a booster cap on it to get it going. It made one heck of a racket for the 4 seconds it did run... then BANG!!!  Silence...... OK... not good..... time to call my local HVAC guy.
 
While the HVAC crew isn't cheap, they do, for the most part, know how to troubleshoot and find the actual problem and get it repaired quickly, vs you trying part after part and since most stores will not take returns on electrical parts, you're out that money too.
 
My last case, with the compressor not starting.....I tried the booster cap.... $29, and that didn't solve the issue...... we ended up having to replace the HVAC gas pack due to it's age and the cost of replacing the compressor and still  having a 20 year old gas pack setting there. I used that opportunity to have everything... including the ductwork under the house replaced with all new. They were in bad shape.
 
Most of the time, when my HVAC system fails, it's either raining, snowing, generally at about 10pm when it's dark..... it rarely happens in the morning of a nice spring day.......  I had a blower fan go bad at 10pm on the coldest night of the year and there was an ice storm going on.  My daughters had to use extra blankets in their upstairs bedrooms that night..... next day, I got a new motor and had the split unit blower running by noon.
 
It's always something..... oh the joys of home ownership.

craigb
I'm surprised Karyn hasn't commented on how sexist the topic title is! 
 

I didn't think he was being serious...

Mesh
I would've definitely called a handywoman to do the job, but there apparently had been a BOGO shoe sale at the mall.

Oooo...  He's diggin' a hole now!
 

Mesh
My AC went out last evening (fortunately, the house fans were cool enough to sleep) and I resetted all the circuit breakers.....still nothing. Being hurricane season, 

HUH, we dont start hurricane season until June down here then August and September are the bad months
 
Hope you get it fixed economically and quickly

Karyn

craigb

Mesh
I would've definitely called a handywoman to do the job, but there apparently had been a BOGO shoe sale at the mall.

Oooo...  He's diggin' a hole now!
 

no worries,  despite the rumours I do have a sense of humour.
 
 
 
 
 
I'll be howling with laughter as I fill in the hole with Mesh at the bottom of it